Holmes girl ready to spell success

Published: May 25, 2000 12:00AM

Katie Hochstetler spells it out: S-t-u-d-y is the key to s-u-c-c-e-s-s.

Hochstetler, 2000 Holmes County Spelling Champion, will face formidable competition against 247 top spellers from across the nation at the National Spelling Bee May 31 at the Independence Ballroom at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Washington, D.C.

Hochstetler, daughter of Paul and Ada Hochstetler of Millersburg, qualified for an all-expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C., May 28-June 3 when she took the top spot in the Regional Grand Final Spelling Bee in Canton in March.

"I'm looking forward to it -- just being on the trip and being away from home for a week," said the Chestnut Ridge eighth-grader who will cap her formal education with the trip to Washington.

Accompanying Hochstetler to the national contest will be her parents and sisters, Edna, 12, and Kristina, 2. The family will ride out with her teacher, Ben Miller.

"I've got some chances (to win), but there are people who have more chances than I do. Some have more resources to study from and more time," Hochstetler said.

Acknowledging competition will be stiff is not the same as giving up, however. Hochstetler, 14, spends about an hour, assisted by her mother, every night going over words.

The eighth-grader, who also won the county bee and placed third in the regionals in 1999, says she never gets nervous before the day of the contest. In fact, she may not even get jitters until a couple of hours before the bee. A few soft drinks will help her calm her nerves, she said.

Spelling has always been Hochstetler's best subject. "When I watched my first school bee, I decided I wanted to be in it. I thought I would have a pretty good chance," she said.

The student felt confident this year because of her experience in competition last year. When she took the county and regional titles, she was "happy, excited, but not really surprised."

During the regional competition she made a bet with her uncle. "When we took the first break, I went to my family. My uncle asked if I could spell all the words and win. I said yes and he said 'show me'," she said.

Last year, Hochstetler's aunt told her luck would be with her if she wore to the regional contest the same clothes she wore at the county bee when she won. "I didn't wear the same socks and I lost," she said.

This year, she wore the same outfit to the county bee and the regionals and won them both, but the charm cannot be carried on to the national event where spellers are required to wear black, dark blue or beige with white polo shirts with a spelling bee emblem on the left shoulder.

The Millersburg girl has two other younger sisters, Sara, 4, and Mary, 5. Her younger brother, Alvin, 8, seems to be carrying on the family spelling tradition and earns perfect scores on all his tests, she said.

Graduation from eighth-grade on May 26, just two days before the trip to D.C., marks the end of Hochstetler's formal education. She plans to stay at home and help her father on the farm, but might get a job cleaning offices for some extra income. Her long-range plans are to operate her own farm and raise calves.

"I like farming and I like working with animals. It just gets in your blood and stays there," she said.